Boko Haram
Terrorism in West Africa, Boko Haram’s Evolution, Strategy and Affiliations
Terrorism in West Africa, Boko Haram’s Evolution, Strategy and Affiliations
Introduction
Since the emergence of Boko-Haram as a significant local terrorist group in the West African state of Nigeria, its operational reach has brought about one of the most daunting challenges for the regional security of this area. The effectiveness of their capability to operate and hit targets in a country that is said to be one of Africa’s security powers remains to be a security nightmare for anti-terrorism experts. Amid a large number of bombings, kidnappings and assassinations, several variations around the group’s ideology, strategies, techniques and linkages have brought challenges to the region.
In North Africa Al-Qaida is operating in smaller groups, the linking of the two group’s poses a significant challenge in the area. This paper will discuss the ideology, strategies and methods links Boko Haram and their affiliation to Al-Qaeda.
History and Background of Boko Haram
Onuoha (2010) attributes the new space for Islamists extremism in Nigeria with the return of democracy in 1999. The return of democracy also brought a rise in kidnapping, militancy, robberies and religious conflicts. Religious violence increased in the wake of challenges to human security and internal discourse. Estimates of deaths due to religious violence between 1999-2003 are more than 10,000 (Onuoha, 2010).
Government leadership failure has also played a role in the Boko Haram crisis. Factors that lead to Boko Haram and its current issues are the Nigeria’s forms of justice. Nigeria has two forms of justice; legal and jungle. Legal justice condemns illegal practices and extra-judicial killings. Jungle justice detains a suspect and executes the individual without a formal trial (Onuoha, 2010). After a governmental sweep in 2009, many members of Boko Haram were not tried for their crimes, but were
Terrorism in West Africa, Boko Haram’s Evolution, Strategy and Affiliations
Introduction
Since the emergence of Boko-Haram as a significant local terrorist group in the West African state of Nigeria, its operational reach has brought about one of the most daunting challenges for the regional security of this area. The effectiveness of their capability to operate and hit targets in a country that is said to be one of Africa’s security powers remains to be a security nightmare for anti-terrorism experts. Amid a large number of bombings, kidnappings and assassinations, several variations around the group’s ideology, strategies, techniques and linkages have brought challenges to the region.
In North Africa Al-Qaida is operating in smaller groups, the linking of the two group’s poses a significant challenge in the area. This paper will discuss the ideology, strategies and methods links Boko Haram and their affiliation to Al-Qaeda.
History and Background of Boko Haram
Onuoha (2010) attributes the new space for Islamists extremism in Nigeria with the return of democracy in 1999. The return of democracy also brought a rise in kidnapping, militancy, robberies and religious conflicts. Religious violence increased in the wake of challenges to human security and internal discourse. Estimates of deaths due to religious violence between 1999-2003 are more than 10,000 (Onuoha, 2010).
Government leadership failure has also played a role in the Boko Haram crisis. Factors that lead to Boko Haram and its current issues are the Nigeria’s forms of justice. Nigeria has two forms of justice; legal and jungle. Legal justice condemns illegal practices and extra-judicial killings. Jungle justice detains a suspect and executes the individual without a formal trial (Onuoha, 2010). After a governmental sweep in 2009, many members of Boko Haram were not tried for their crimes, but were
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